Scoop-gate



A. W. KNUTSON.

Patented Dec. 30, 1919.

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ALFRED W.YK.NUTSON, 0F GALESBURG, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 GEORGE G. BAYNE, OF

Y BUSI-INELL, ILLINOIS.

scoor-earn..

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Bec. 30, 1919.

Application led January 25, 19,13. Serial No. 213,726.

' T 0 all whom t may concern:

j Be it known that I, ALFRED WQ KNUTsoN, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Galesburg, in the county of Knox and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Scoop-Gate, of which the following is a specification. j

My invention relates to tail-boards for farm-wagons, of that type wherein the fea tures of a closure and a shoveling board are provided. lagons equipped with tailboards of this character are frequently used for carrying grain and for dumping it at the elevator. It is essential therefore that the scoop-gate be close fitting, in order that no grain may be lost in local transporting; that it be readily operable against the resistance of the confined load; that it be capable of being held open at the preferred distance to allow proper discharge from the tilted wagon-body; that the last recited means-the holding elements-be quickly operable, in order'to instantly stop or to regulate the How of grain, that the gate have absolute freedom of movement; that when opened to the shoveling-board position it will not permit, grain t0, dribble, and that it be capable of being changed from one position to another with facility. To incorporate in a scoop-'gate all the foregoing recited features is one of the objects of the invention. j

Wagons of the type referred toare, used alsofor hauling hogs, sheep, and'other small animals to market. To provide for such wagons ascoop-gate which is provided with novel means whereon the valve-board may be tilted (or swung in vertical planes,) slid back and-forth, and be supported atl such height that the animals may freely pass thereunder, constitutes another object of the invention.

'ilo `dispense absolutely with any guide or the like which is liable to cause the gate to bind as it is moved therethrough `and which therefore is the cause of` an imperfect operation, is. a particular object` r i Minor objects will presently appear.`

Fiffure 1 is a rear elevation of m im` proved scoopLgate in position on a wagonbox' Fig.` 2, a reversed View of the same, a

wagon-boX-bottom showing particularly the construction of the shelf on which the movable gate-board may be t1lted,'1noved back and forth, and

supported and AFig. 5, an enlarged detail showing particularly the means for sustaining the movable gate-board in load-dumping position.

Considering the drawings in detail, 2 denotes the bottom; 3, B'the sides; and at the rear cross-strip of' aconnnon type of wagonbody.

` 5 denotes what may be termed the sta tionary frame inasmuch as it is adapted to be moved from its normal Vposition only when the scoop-gate is used as a shoveling- 7,7, and cross-'pieces 8, 8, suitably secured together. This frame, which is old in the art, has the usual placement, the standards resting on the box-bottom 2 and the wings embracing the sidi-s of the box.

9, 9 indicate a pair of shelves eachof which is preferably in the form of a plate secured by bolts or rivets 9 to one of the standards and having a projection extending toward the longitudinal central line of the scoop-gate and affording a valve-supporting shoulder l0. 11 denotes a centrally arranged movable gate-board which for the purposes of this specification shall herein- `after be termed the valve, inasmuch as its .functions are to prevent or to j allow and tovregulate the flow of grain and to permit or prevent the admission or thev exit of ani mals to `and from the wagon-body- It is preferably made up of several boards united near .their .upper and lower `portions by angle, irons l2 and 13 respectively, the horizontal branches of these irons resting normally upon the bars .S and 9 respectively. lllfdenotes an Qperating handle. It willfbe noted that. the Vvalveil -may slide freely vertically betweenthe opposed edges ofthe standards Y, 7 5 that it may be swung on the board. It comprises wings 6, 6', standards 50 shoulders 10 which act as fulcrums therefor; and that when it is moved to the horizontal` position shown in Fig. 4 it will be self-supported, for it has been moved forward past its horizontal central line whereby its forward end is tending to fall by gravity, but this falling movementl is prevented by the cross-bar 8. This is the position in which the valve is placed when loading or unloading animals, lumber and other ,things which enter or are taken ifrom the rear end or the wagon-body, and is illustrated clearly in Fig. l.

' 15 indicates the strap portion of a bolt 15 by which the cross-bars 8 and 8 are secured to the adjacent wings.

Mounted in eyes in hinge-brackets 16 secured by bolts 17 to the bar 8 is a pin 18 on which is hinged the eye of a valve supporting and locking arm 19 the free end of which rests normally on top ot the valve l1, to thereby lock it in closed position as shown best by full lines in Fig. 1 and dotted lines in Fig. 5. lVhen the wagon-box is tilted to dump its load, or at any other time vwhen it is desired to hold the valve partly open, said freeV end is brought into position to rest beneath the angle-iron 12 on the rear face of the valve, see Fig. 5. This adjustment and lock is illustrated also by dotted lines in Fig. 3, wherein are additionally shown, by dotted lines a and b, other positions in which the valve may be placed and held by the operator.

When it is desired to use the scoop-gate as a shoveling-board the lower edge of the valve 11 is rst let fall in front of the crossbar 8 which restrains it from rearward movement, the terminals of the angle-iron 13 overlapping their adjacent standards 7 and 7 and preventing its rearward movement. The upper portion of the valve is held in like manner by the cross-bar 8 and angle-iron 12, and the valve is supported by the floor 2. The valve is thus secured firmly to and in the frame 5. To each side of the wagon-box is secured a strapbolt 21 having an eye which engages the eye of a supporting-link 22 which passes through eyes in plates 23 secured each on one of the standards, and through registering eyes in said standards, each link bent at its lower end to forni an enlargement of such size that it will not enter the eyes "in said standards and plates. The operation of these is clearly shown by dotted lines in Fig. 3. When it is desired to replace the shoveling-board in its normal position the links 22 are brought beneath spring-clips 24 in order to prevent them from swinging.

I wish to call particular attention to the fact that the shoulder 10 constitutes a Yfree support with which the valve 11 is in no manner connected or attached; that the valve will move on it or over it Without any danger of binding; and that the valve may be moved backward and forward while entirely out of contact with it. in mind that wood (such as the valve) swells in moist weather, and that metallic guidesl must lit reasonably close and are easily bent,-in either of which events there is liability to inferior operation or even inoperation-the advantage oi' a support of the type or nature ot the shoulders l() will be evident, as will also the Jfact that any similarly operating elements, projecting toward each other from the opposed edges of the standards 7, 7', might be substituted therefor.

Having thus described the nature of the invention l claim as new the following, to-wit:

1. In a device of the character described, a frame including spaced standards, a valve normally closing the space between them, a stop on the valve, and a hooked hinged arm adapted to engage alternatively with the top of the valve and with said stop to hold the valve in closed and inclined positions respectively.

2. In a device of the character described, a frame including spaced standards, a valve normally closing the space between them, means whereon the valve may tilt about a point intermediate its upper and lower edges and slide, and a hinged arm for holding the valve inclined relatively to the frame.

3. In a device of the character described, a frame including spaced standards and a cross-bar connecting them, a valve normally closing the space between the standards, means whereon the valve rnc y be tilted about a point intermediate `its upper and lower edges, and means hingedly connected with the cross-bar and adapted to hold the valve in both closed and tilted position.

4. In a device of the character described, a frame including spaced standards, a valve normally closing the space between the standards, means whereon the valve may be tilted about a point intermediate its upper and lower edges, a stop on Vthe valve, and means having thrust engagement with said stop and thereby holding the valve in tilted position.

5. In a device ot the characterdescribed,

a frame including spaced standards, and a cross-bar connecting them, a valve normally closing the `space betweenthe standards, means whereon the valve maybe tilted, a stop on the valve, and an arm hingedly connected with the cross-bar and adapted to engage said stop te hold the valve in inclined position. Y

In witness whereof l hereto sign my name.

ALFRED w. irNUrsoN.

lt being kept 

